Systems and methods configured for balancing workload among multiple computing systems

ABSTRACT

A computer-implemented method for balancing workload among one or more locations is disclosed. The method may comprise: receiving data associated with a workload forecast for a first location and a second location, the data comprising a number of orders expected to be received for the first and second locations for a predetermined period of time; determining a first set of ratios of workload forecast for the locations relative to a first sum of the workload forecast for the first and second locations, the first set of ratios comprising at least a first forecast ratio for the first location and a second forecast ratio for the second location; receiving electronic orders for the predetermined period of time, the electronic orders comprising one or more groups of items and being assigned to one of the locations; and reassigning a first subset of electronic orders for the first location to the second location.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to computerized methods andsystems for reallocating workload among one or more locations. Inparticular, embodiments of the present disclosure relate to inventiveand unconventional systems that monitor workload allocated to one ormore locations compared to a predetermined target and reallocate theworkload from one location to another in order to maximize efficientutilization of resources at the locations.

BACKGROUND

For a store receiving orders from a remote customer via methods such asthe Internet, mail, phone, and fax, a typical order processing involvesreceiving the orders, retrieving ordered items from inventory, andshipping them to corresponding addresses. As the volume of orders andthe number of items in the inventory increase, the store may need toestablish multiple fulfillment centers that stock items in its inventoryand ship to different addresses within a region.

The fulfillment centers may ship to a common region (e.g., a largemetropolitan area and its rurals) and stock the same items in variousquantities, but each will have its own pool of available workers,equipment, and facilities. These differences affect a fulfillmentcenter's processing capacity (i.e., how many orders it can process in agiven period of time) and fixed operating costs (e.g., utility fees,wages, and the like). Even if the store might have received orders thatmeet 100% of its total processing capacity across all fulfillmentcenters, misallocating the orders to different fulfillment centers canlead to unnecessary expenses. For example, a fulfillment center may beoverloaded when it is allocated orders beyond its processing capacity,which can result in delayed processing or extra wages for overtime pay.On the other hand, another fulfillment center may be allocated ordersless than its processing capacity, which can lead to underutilization ofits resources, wasting a portion of the fixed operating cost.

Therefore, there is a need for improved methods and systems forbalancing the number of orders or workload among multiple fulfillmentcenters in order to maximize respective processing capacity and/orminimize overloading. In addition to the even distribution of ordersacross the fulfillment centers, the improved methods and systems, in abroader scope, are further amenable to distributing any workload (e.g.,computational workload in distributed computing) across multiplecomputing systems.

SUMMARY

One aspect of the present disclosure is directed to acomputer-implemented method for balancing workload among one or morelocations. The method may comprise: receiving data associated with aworkload forecast for a first location and a second location, the datacomprising a number of orders expected to be received for the first andsecond locations for a predetermined period of time; determining a firstset of ratios of workload forecast for the locations relative to a firstsum of the workload forecast for the first and second locations, thefirst set of ratios comprising at least a first forecast ratio for thefirst location and a second forecast ratio for the second location;receiving electronic orders for the predetermined period of time, theelectronic orders comprising one or more groups of items and beingassigned to one of the locations; and reassigning a first subset ofelectronic orders for the first location to the second location based ona second ratio of the electronic orders for the first location relativeto a second sum of the electronic orders for the locations, the firstforecast ratio, the second sum, and whether the first subset ofelectronic orders can be reassigned without increasing a total number ofthe one or more groups of items corresponding to the first subset ofelectronic orders.

Yet another aspect of the present disclosure is directed to acomputer-implemented system for balancing workload among one or morelocations. The system may comprise a non-transitory computer-readablemedium configured to store instructions; and at least one processorconfigured to execute the instructions to perform operations. Theoperations may comprise: receiving data associated with a workloadforecast for a first location and a second location, the data comprisinga number of electronic orders expected to be received for the first andsecond locations for a predetermined period of time; determining a firstset of ratios of workload forecast for the locations relative to a firstsum of the workload forecast for the first and second locations, thefirst set of ratios comprising at least a first forecast ratio for thefirst location and a second forecast ratio for the second location;receiving electronic orders for the predetermined date, the electronicorders comprising one or more groups of items and being assigned to oneof the locations; and reassigning a first subset of electronic ordersfor the first location to the second location based on a second ratio ofthe electronic orders for the first location relative to a second sum ofthe electronic orders for the locations, the first forecast ratio, thesecond sum, and whether the first subset of electronic orders can bereassigned without increasing a total number of the one or more groupsof items corresponding to the first subset of electronic orders.

Furthermore, another aspect of the present disclosure is directed to acomputer-implemented system for redistributing one or more orders amongone or more warehouses. The system may comprise a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium configured to store instructions; and at leastone processor configured to execute the instructions to performoperations. The operations may comprise: receiving data associated withan order forecast for a first warehouse and a second warehouse, the databeing determined using an order simulation model and comprising a numberof orders expected to be received for the first and second warehousesfor a predetermined period of time; determining a first set of ratios ofthe order forecast for the warehouses relative to a first sum of theorder forecast for the first and second warehouses, the first set ofratios comprising at least a first forecast ratio for the firstwarehouse and a second forecast ratio for the second warehouse;receiving electronic orders for the predetermined period of time, theelectronic orders including one or more parcels of one or more items;assigning the orders to the warehouses based on an outcome of an orderallocation model; determining a second ratio of the electronic ordersfor the first warehouse relative to a second sum of the electronicorders for the first and second warehouses; determining a third ratio ofthe electronic orders for the second warehouse relative to the secondsum of the electronic orders for the warehouses; and reassigning a firstsubset of the electronic orders for the first warehouse to the secondwarehouse when the second ratio exceeds the first forecast ratio by lessthan a workload tolerance for the first warehouse, when the third ratiois less than the workload tolerance for the second warehouse, when thesecond sum exceeds the workload threshold, and when a number of parcelsfor the first subset of electronic orders will remain the same after thetransfer.

Other systems, methods, and computer-readable media are also discussedherein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a schematic block diagram illustrating an exemplaryembodiment of a network comprising computerized systems forcommunications enabling shipping, transportation, and logisticsoperations, consistent with the disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 1B depicts a sample Search Result Page (SRP) that includes one ormore search results satisfying a search request along with interactiveuser interface elements, consistent with the disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 1C depicts a sample Single Display Page (SDP) that includes aproduct and information about the product along with interactive userinterface elements, consistent with the disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 1D depicts a sample Cart page that includes items in a virtualshopping cart along with interactive user interface elements, consistentwith the disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 1E depicts a sample Order page that includes items from the virtualshopping cart along with information regarding purchase and shipping,along with interactive user interface elements, consistent with thedisclosed embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic illustration of an exemplary fulfillment centerconfigured to utilize disclosed computerized systems, consistent withthe disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 3 depicts a flowchart of an exemplary computerized process fordetermining target ratios and tolerance ratios during a planning stage,consistent with the disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 4 is an exemplary table of information for determining targetworkloads and tolerances at different locations based on a forecast,consistent with the disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 5 depicts a diagram of an exemplary computerized process fordetermining appropriate action at different stages of workloadreallocation, consistent with the disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 6 is an exemplary table of information describing the computerizedprocess of reallocating workload, consistent with the disclosedembodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings.Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawingsand the following description to refer to the same or similar parts.While several illustrative embodiments are described herein,modifications, adaptations and other implementations are possible. Forexample, substitutions, additions, or modifications may be made to thecomponents and steps illustrated in the drawings, and the illustrativemethods described herein may be modified by substituting, reordering,removing, or adding steps to the disclosed methods. Accordingly, thefollowing detailed description is not limited to the disclosedembodiments and examples. Instead, the proper scope of the invention isdefined by the appended claims.

Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to systems andmethods configured for balancing workload among multiple computingsystems.

Referring to FIG. 1A, a schematic block diagram 100 illustrating anexemplary embodiment of a system comprising computerized systems forcommunications enabling shipping, transportation, and logisticsoperations is shown. As illustrated in FIG. 1A, system 100 may include avariety of systems, each of which may be connected to one another viaone or more networks. The systems may also be connected to one anothervia a direct connection, for example, using a cable. The depictedsystems include a shipment authority technology (SAT) system 101, anexternal front end system 103, an internal front end system 105, atransportation system 107, mobile devices 107A, 107B, and 107C, sellerportal 109, shipment and order tracking (SOT) system 111, fulfillmentoptimization (FO) system 113, fulfillment messaging gateway (FMG) 115,supply chain management (SCM) system 117, workforce management system119, mobile devices 119A, 119B, and 119C (depicted as being inside offulfillment center (FC) 200), 3^(rd) party fulfillment systems 121A,121B, and 121C, fulfillment center authorization system (FC Auth) 123,and labor management system (LMS) 125.

SAT system 101, in some embodiments, may be implemented as a computersystem that monitors order status and delivery status. For example, SATsystem 101 may determine whether an order is past its Promised DeliveryDate (PDD) and may take appropriate action, including initiating a neworder, reshipping the items in the non-delivered order, canceling thenon-delivered order, initiating contact with the ordering customer, orthe like. SAT system 101 may also monitor other data, including output(such as a number of packages shipped during a particular time period)and input (such as the number of empty cardboard boxes received for usein shipping). SAT system 101 may also act as a gateway between differentdevices in system 100, enabling communication (e.g., usingstore-and-forward or other techniques) between devices such as externalfront end system 103 and FO system 113.

External front end system 103, in some embodiments, may be implementedas a computer system that enables external users to interact with one ormore systems in system 100. For example, in embodiments where system 100enables the presentation of systems to enable users to place an orderfor an item, external front end system 103 may be implemented as a webserver that receives search requests, presents item pages, and solicitspayment information. For example, external front end system 103 may beimplemented as a computer or computers running software such as theApache HTTP Server, Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS),NGINX, or the like. In other embodiments, external front end system 103may run custom web server software designed to receive and processrequests from external devices (e.g., mobile device 102A or computer102B), acquire information from databases and other data stores based onthose requests, and provide responses to the received requests based onacquired information.

In some embodiments, external front end system 103 may include one ormore of a web caching system, a database, a search system, or a paymentsystem. In one aspect, external front end system 103 may comprise one ormore of these systems, while in another aspect, external front endsystem 103 may comprise interfaces (e.g., server-to-server,database-to-database, or other network connections) connected to one ormore of these systems.

An illustrative set of steps, illustrated by FIGS. 1B, 1C, 1D, and 1E,will help to describe some operations of external front end system 103.External front end system 103 may receive information from systems ordevices in system 100 for presentation and/or display. For example,external front end system 103 may host or provide one or more web pages,including a Search Result Page (SRP) (e.g., FIG. 1B), a Single DetailPage (SDP) (e.g., FIG. 1C), a Cart page (e.g., FIG. 1D), or an Orderpage (e.g., FIG. 1E). A user device (e.g., using mobile device 102A orcomputer 102B) may navigate to external front end system 103 and requesta search by entering information into a search box. External front endsystem 103 may request information from one or more systems in system100. For example, external front end system 103 may request informationfrom FO system 113 that satisfies the search request. External front endsystem 103 may also request and receive (from FO system 113) a PromisedDelivery Date or “PDD” for each product included in the search results.The PDD, in some embodiments, may represent an estimate of when apackage containing the product will arrive at the user's desiredlocation or a date by which the product is promised to be delivered atthe user's desired location if ordered within a particular period oftime, for example, by the end of the day (11:59 PM). (PDD is discussedfurther below with respect to FO system 113.)

External front end system 103 may prepare an SRP (e.g., FIG. 1B) basedon the information. The SRP may include information that satisfies thesearch request. For example, this may include pictures of products thatsatisfy the search request. The SRP may also include respective pricesfor each product, or information relating to enhanced delivery optionsfor each product, PDD, weight, size, offers, discounts, or the like.External front end system 103 may send the SRP to the requesting userdevice (e.g., via a network).

A user device may then select a product from the SRP, e.g., by clickingor tapping a user interface, or using another input device, to select aproduct represented on the SRP. The user device may formulate a requestfor information on the selected product and send it to external frontend system 103. In response, external front end system 103 may requestinformation related to the selected product. For example, theinformation may include additional information beyond that presented fora product on the respective SRP. This could include, for example, shelflife, country of origin, weight, size, number of items in package,handling instructions, or other information about the product. Theinformation could also include recommendations for similar products(based on, for example, big data and/or machine learning analysis ofcustomers who bought this product and at least one other product),answers to frequently asked questions, reviews from customers,manufacturer information, pictures, or the like.

External front end system 103 may prepare an SDP (Single Detail Page)(e.g., FIG. 1C) based on the received product information. The SDP mayalso include other interactive elements such as a “Buy Now” button, a“Add to Cart” button, a quantity field, a picture of the item, or thelike. The SDP may further include a list of sellers that offer theproduct. The list may be ordered based on the price each seller offerssuch that the seller that offers to sell the product at the lowest pricemay be listed at the top. The list may also be ordered based on theseller ranking such that the highest ranked seller may be listed at thetop. The seller ranking may be formulated based on multiple factors,including, for example, the seller's past track record of meeting apromised PDD. External front end system 103 may deliver the SDP to therequesting user device (e.g., via a network).

The requesting user device may receive the SDP which lists the productinformation. Upon receiving the SDP, the user device may then interactwith the SDP. For example, a user of the requesting user device mayclick or otherwise interact with a “Place in Cart” button on the SDP.This adds the product to a shopping cart associated with the user. Theuser device may transmit this request to add the product to the shoppingcart to external front end system 103.

External front end system 103 may generate a Cart page (e.g., FIG. 1D).The Cart page, in some embodiments, lists the products that the user hasadded to a virtual “shopping cart.” A user device may request the Cartpage by clicking on or otherwise interacting with an icon on the SRP,SDP, or other pages. The Cart page may, in some embodiments, list allproducts that the user has added to the shopping cart, as well asinformation about the products in the cart such as a quantity of eachproduct, a price for each product per item, a price for each productbased on an associated quantity, information regarding PDD, a deliverymethod, a shipping cost, user interface elements for modifying theproducts in the shopping cart (e.g., deletion or modification of aquantity), options for ordering other product or setting up periodicdelivery of products, options for setting up interest payments, userinterface elements for proceeding to purchase, or the like. A user at auser device may click on or otherwise interact with a user interfaceelement (e.g., a button that reads “Buy Now”) to initiate the purchaseof the product in the shopping cart. Upon doing so, the user device maytransmit this request to initiate the purchase to external front endsystem 103.

External front end system 103 may generate an Order page (e.g., FIG. 1E)in response to receiving the request to initiate a purchase. The Orderpage, in some embodiments, re-lists the items from the shopping cart andrequests input of payment and shipping information. For example, theOrder page may include a section requesting information about thepurchaser of the items in the shopping cart (e.g., name, address, e-mailaddress, phone number), information about the recipient (e.g., name,address, phone number, delivery information), shipping information(e.g., speed/method of delivery and/or pickup), payment information(e.g., credit card, bank transfer, check, stored credit), user interfaceelements to request a cash receipt (e.g., for tax purposes), or thelike. External front end system 103 may send the Order page to the userdevice.

The user device may enter information on the Order page and click orotherwise interact with a user interface element that sends theinformation to external front end system 103. From there, external frontend system 103 may send the information to different systems in system100 to enable the creation and processing of a new order with theproducts in the shopping cart.

In some embodiments, external front end system 103 may be furtherconfigured to enable sellers to transmit and receive informationrelating to orders.

Internal front end system 105, in some embodiments, may be implementedas a computer system that enables internal users (e.g., employees of anorganization that owns, operates, or leases system 100) to interact withone or more systems in system 100. For example, in embodiments wherenetwork 100 enables the presentation of systems to enable users to placean order for an item, internal front end system 105 may be implementedas a web server that enables internal users to view diagnostic andstatistical information about orders, modify item information, or reviewstatistics relating to orders. For example, internal front end system105 may be implemented as a computer or computers running software suchas the Apache HTTP Server, Microsoft Internet Information Services(IIS), NGINX, or the like. In other embodiments, internal front endsystem 105 may run custom web server software designed to receive andprocess requests from systems or devices depicted in system 100 (as wellas other devices not depicted), acquire information from databases andother data stores based on those requests, and provide responses to thereceived requests based on acquired information.

In some embodiments, internal front end system 105 may include one ormore of a web caching system, a database, a search system, a paymentsystem, an analytics system, an order monitoring system, or the like. Inone aspect, internal front end system 105 may comprise one or more ofthese systems, while in another aspect, internal front end system 105may comprise interfaces (e.g., server-to-server, database-to-database,or other network connections) connected to one or more of these systems.

Transportation system 107, in some embodiments, may be implemented as acomputer system that enables communication between systems or devices insystem 100 and mobile devices 107A-107C. Transportation system 107, insome embodiments, may receive information from one or more mobiledevices 107A-107C (e.g., mobile phones, smart phones, PDAs, or thelike). For example, in some embodiments, mobile devices 107A-107C maycomprise devices operated by delivery workers. The delivery workers, whomay be permanent, temporary, or shift employees, may utilize mobiledevices 107A-107C to effect delivery of packages containing the productsordered by users. For example, to deliver a package, the delivery workermay receive a notification on a mobile device indicating which packageto deliver and where to deliver it. Upon arriving at the deliverylocation, the delivery worker may locate the package (e.g., in the backof a truck or in a crate of packages), scan or otherwise capture dataassociated with an identifier on the package (e.g., a barcode, an image,a text string, an RFID tag, or the like) using the mobile device, anddeliver the package (e.g., by leaving it at a front door, leaving itwith a security guard, handing it to the recipient, or the like). Insome embodiments, the delivery worker may capture photo(s) of thepackage and/or may obtain a signature using the mobile device. Themobile device may send information to transportation system 107including information about the delivery, including, for example, time,date, GPS location, photo(s), an identifier associated with the deliveryworker, an identifier associated with the mobile device, or the like.Transportation system 107 may store this information in a database (notpictured) for access by other systems in system 100. Transportationsystem 107 may, in some embodiments, use this information to prepare andsend tracking data to other systems indicating the location of aparticular package.

In some embodiments, certain users may use one kind of mobile device(e.g., permanent workers may use a specialized PDA with custom hardwaresuch as a barcode scanner, stylus, and other devices) while other usersmay use other kinds of mobile devices (e.g., temporary or shift workersmay utilize off-the-shelf mobile phones and/or smartphones).

In some embodiments, transportation system 107 may associate a user witheach device. For example, transportation system 107 may store anassociation between a user (represented by, e.g., a user identifier, anemployee identifier, or a phone number) and a mobile device (representedby, e.g., an International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI), anInternational Mobile Subscription Identifier (IMSI), a phone number, aUniversal Unique Identifier (UUID), or a Globally Unique Identifier(GUID)). Transportation system 107 may use this association inconjunction with data received on deliveries to analyze data stored inthe database in order to determine, among other things, a location ofthe worker, an efficiency of the worker, or a speed of the worker.

Seller portal 109, in some embodiments, may be implemented as a computersystem that enables sellers or other external entities to electronicallycommunicate with one or more systems in system 100. For example, aseller may utilize a computer system (not pictured) to upload or provideproduct information, order information, contact information, or thelike, for products that the seller wishes to sell through system 100using seller portal 109.

Shipment and order tracking system 111, in some embodiments, may beimplemented as a computer system that receives, stores, and forwardsinformation regarding the location of packages containing productsordered by customers (e.g., by a user using devices 102A-102B). In someembodiments, shipment and order tracking system 111 may request or storeinformation from web servers (not pictured) operated by shippingcompanies that deliver packages containing products ordered bycustomers.

In some embodiments, shipment and order tracking system 111 may requestand store information from systems depicted in system 100. For example,shipment and order tracking system 111 may request information fromtransportation system 107. As discussed above, transportation system 107may receive information from one or more mobile devices 107A-107C (e.g.,mobile phones, smart phones, PDAs, or the like) that are associated withone or more of a user (e.g., a delivery worker) or a vehicle (e.g., adelivery truck). In some embodiments, shipment and order tracking system111 may also request information from workforce management system (WMS)119 to determine the location of individual products inside of afulfillment center (e.g., fulfillment center 200). Shipment and ordertracking system 111 may request data from one or more of transportationsystem 107 or WMS 119, process it, and present it to a device (e.g.,user devices 102A and 102B) upon request.

Fulfillment optimization (FO) system 113, in some embodiments, may beimplemented as a computer system that stores information for customerorders from other systems (e.g., external front end system 103 and/orshipment and order tracking system 111). FO system 113 may also storeinformation describing where particular items are held or stored. Forexample, certain items may be stored only in one fulfillment center,while certain other items may be stored in multiple fulfillment centers.

In still other embodiments, certain fulfilment centers may be designedto store only a particular set of items (e.g., fresh produce or frozenproducts). FO system 113 stores this information as well as associatedinformation (e.g., quantity, size, date of receipt, expiration date,etc.).

FO system 113 may also calculate a corresponding PDD (promised deliverydate) for each product. The PDD, in some embodiments, may be based onone or more factors. For example, FO system 113 may calculate a PDD fora product based on a past demand for a product (e.g., how many timesthat product was ordered during a period of time), an expected demandfor a product (e.g., how many customers are forecast to order theproduct during an upcoming period of time), a network-wide past demandindicating how many products were ordered during a period of time, anetwork-wide expected demand indicating how many products are expectedto be ordered during an upcoming period of time, one or more counts ofthe product stored in each fulfillment center 200, which fulfillmentcenter stores each product, expected or current orders for that product,or the like.

In some embodiments, FO system 113 may determine a PDD for each producton a periodic basis (e.g., hourly) and store it in a database forretrieval or sending to other systems (e.g., external front end system103, SAT system 101, shipment and order tracking system 111). In otherembodiments, FO system 113 may receive electronic requests from one ormore systems (e.g., external front end system 103, SAT system 101,shipment and order tracking system 111) and calculate the PDD on demand.

Fulfilment messaging gateway (FMG) 115, in some embodiments, may beimplemented as a computer system that receives a request or response inone format or protocol from one or more systems in system 100, such asFO system 113, converts it to another format or protocol, and forward itin the converted format or protocol to other systems, such as WMS 119 or3^(rd) party fulfillment systems 121A, 121B, or 121C, and vice versa.

Supply chain management (SCM) system 117, in some embodiments, may beimplemented as a computer system that performs forecasting functions.For example, SCM system 117 may forecast a level of demand for aparticular product based on, for example, based on a past demand forproducts, an expected demand for a product, a network-wide past demand,a network-wide expected demand, a count products stored in eachfulfillment center 200, expected or current orders for each product, orthe like. In response to this forecasted level and the amount of eachproduct across all fulfillment centers, SCM system 117 may generate oneor more purchase orders to purchase and stock a sufficient quantity tosatisfy the forecasted demand for a particular product.

Workforce management system (WMS) 119, in some embodiments, may beimplemented as a computer system that monitors workflow. For example,WMS 119 may receive event data from individual devices (e.g., devices107A-107C or 119A-119C) indicating discrete events. For example, WMS 119may receive event data indicating the use of one of these devices toscan a package. As discussed below with respect to fulfillment center200 and FIG. 2, during the fulfillment process, a package identifier(e.g., a barcode or RFID tag data) may be scanned or read by machines atparticular stages (e.g., automated or handheld barcode scanners, RFIDreaders, high-speed cameras, devices such as tablet 119A, mobiledevice/PDA 119B, computer 119C, or the like). WMS 119 may store eachevent indicating a scan or a read of a package identifier in acorresponding database (not pictured) along with the package identifier,a time, date, location, user identifier, or other information, and mayprovide this information to other systems (e.g., shipment and ordertracking system 111).

WMS 119, in some embodiments, may store information associating one ormore devices (e.g., devices 107A-107C or 119A-119C) with one or moreusers associated with system 100. For example, in some situations, auser (such as a part- or full-time employee) may be associated with amobile device in that the user owns the mobile device (e.g., the mobiledevice is a smartphone). In other situations, a user may be associatedwith a mobile device in that the user is temporarily in custody of themobile device (e.g., the user checked the mobile device out at the startof the day, will use it during the day, and will return it at the end ofthe day).

WMS 119, in some embodiments, may maintain a work log for each userassociated with system 100. For example, WMS 119 may store informationassociated with each employee, including any assigned processes (e.g.,unloading trucks, picking items from a pick zone, rebin wall work,packing items), a user identifier, a location (e.g., a floor or zone ina fulfillment center 200), a number of units moved through the system bythe employee (e.g., number of items picked, number of items packed), anidentifier associated with a device (e.g., devices 119A-119C), or thelike. In some embodiments, WMS 119 may receive check-in and check-outinformation from a timekeeping system, such as a timekeeping systemoperated on a device 119A-119C.

3^(rd) party fulfillment (3PL) systems 121A-121C, in some embodiments,represent computer systems associated with third-party providers oflogistics and products. For example, while some products are stored infulfillment center 200 (as discussed below with respect to FIG. 2),other products may be stored off-site, may be produced on demand, or maybe otherwise unavailable for storage in fulfillment center 200. 3PLsystems 121A-121C may be configured to receive orders from FO system 113(e.g., through FMG 115) and may provide products and/or services (e.g.,delivery or installation) to customers directly. In some embodiments,one or more of 3PL systems 121A-121C may be part of system 100, while inother embodiments, one or more of 3PL systems 121A-121C may be outsideof system 100 (e.g., owned or operated by a third-party provider).

Fulfillment Center Auth system (FC Auth) 123, in some embodiments, maybe implemented as a computer system with a variety of functions. Forexample, in some embodiments, FC Auth 123 may act as a single-sign on(SSO) service for one or more other systems in system 100. For example,FC Auth 123 may enable a user to log in via internal front end system105, determine that the user has similar privileges to access resourcesat shipment and order tracking system 111, and enable the user to accessthose privileges without requiring a second log in process. FC Auth 123,in other embodiments, may enable users (e.g., employees) to associatethemselves with a particular task. For example, some employees may nothave an electronic device (such as devices 119A-119C) and may insteadmove from task to task, and zone to zone, within a fulfillment center200, during the course of a day. FC Auth 123 may be configured to enablethose employees to indicate what task they are performing and what zonethey are in at different times of day.

Labor management system (LMS) 125, in some embodiments, may beimplemented as a computer system that stores attendance and overtimeinformation for employees (including full-time and part-time employees).For example, LMS 125 may receive information from FC Auth 123, WMA 119,devices 119A-119C, transportation system 107, and/or devices 107A-107C.

The particular configuration depicted in FIG. 1A is an example only. Forexample, while FIG. 1A depicts FC Auth system 123 connected to FO system113, not all embodiments require this particular configuration. Indeed,in some embodiments, the systems in system 100 may be connected to oneanother through one or more public or private networks, including theInternet, an Intranet, a WAN (Wide-Area Network), a MAN(Metropolitan-Area Network), a wireless network compliant with the IEEE802.11a/b/g/n Standards, a leased line, or the like. In someembodiments, one or more of the systems in system 100 may be implementedas one or more virtual servers implemented at a data center, serverfarm, or the like.

FIG. 2 depicts a fulfillment center 200. Fulfillment center 200 is anexample of a physical location that stores items for shipping tocustomers when ordered. Fulfillment center (FC) 200 may be divided intomultiple zones, each of which are depicted in FIG. 2. These “zones,” insome embodiments, may be thought of as virtual divisions betweendifferent stages of a process of receiving items, storing the items,retrieving the items, and shipping the items. So while the “zones” aredepicted in FIG. 2, other divisions of zones are possible, and the zonesin FIG. 2 may be omitted, duplicated, or modified in some embodiments.

Inbound zone 203 represents an area of FC 200 where items are receivedfrom sellers who wish to sell products using system 100 from FIG. 1A.For example, a seller may deliver items 202A and 202B using truck 201.Item 202A may represent a single item large enough to occupy its ownshipping pallet, while item 202B may represent a set of items that arestacked together on the same pallet to save space.

A worker will receive the items in inbound zone 203 and may optionallycheck the items for damage and correctness using a computer system (notpictured). For example, the worker may use a computer system to comparethe quantity of items 202A and 202B to an ordered quantity of items. Ifthe quantity does not match, that worker may refuse one or more of items202A or 202B. If the quantity does match, the worker may move thoseitems (using, e.g., a dolly, a handtruck, a forklift, or manually) tobuffer zone 205. Buffer zone 205 may be a temporary storage area foritems that are not currently needed in the picking zone, for example,because there is a high enough quantity of that item in the picking zoneto satisfy forecasted demand. In some embodiments, forklifts 206 operateto move items around buffer zone 205 and between inbound zone 203 anddrop zone 207. If there is a need for items 202A or 202B in the pickingzone (e.g., because of forecasted demand), a forklift may move items202A or 202B to drop zone 207.

Drop zone 207 may be an area of FC 200 that stores items before they aremoved to picking zone 209. A worker assigned to the picking task (a“picker”) may approach items 202A and 202B in the picking zone, scan abarcode for the picking zone, and scan barcodes associated with items202A and 202B using a mobile device (e.g., device 119B). The picker maythen take the item to picking zone 209 (e.g., by placing it on a cart orcarrying it).

Picking zone 209 may be an area of FC 200 where items 208 are stored onstorage units 210. In some embodiments, storage units 210 may compriseone or more of physical shelving, bookshelves, boxes, totes,refrigerators, freezers, cold stores, or the like. In some embodiments,picking zone 209 may be organized into multiple floors. In someembodiments, workers or machines may move items into picking zone 209 inmultiple ways, including, for example, a forklift, an elevator, aconveyor belt, a cart, a handtruck, a dolly, an automated robot ordevice, or manually. For example, a picker may place items 202A and 202Bon a handtruck or cart in drop zone 207 and walk items 202A and 202B topicking zone 209.

A picker may receive an instruction to place (or “stow”) the items inparticular spots in picking zone 209, such as a particular space on astorage unit 210. For example, a picker may scan item 202A using amobile device (e.g., device 119B). The device may indicate where thepicker should stow item 202A, for example, using a system that indicatean aisle, shelf, and location. The device may then prompt the picker toscan a barcode at that location before stowing item 202A in thatlocation. The device may send (e.g., via a wireless network) data to acomputer system such as WMS 119 in FIG. 1A indicating that item 202A hasbeen stowed at the location by the user using device 119B.

Once a user places an order, a picker may receive an instruction ondevice 1196 to retrieve one or more items 208 from storage unit 210. Thepicker may retrieve item 208, scan a barcode on item 208, and place iton transport mechanism 214. While transport mechanism 214 is representedas a slide, in some embodiments, transport mechanism may be implementedas one or more of a conveyor belt, an elevator, a cart, a forklift, ahandtruck, a dolly, a cart, or the like. Item 208 may then arrive atpacking zone 211.

Packing zone 211 may be an area of FC 200 where items are received frompicking zone 209 and packed into boxes or bags for eventual shipping tocustomers. In packing zone 211, a worker assigned to receiving items (a“rebin worker”) will receive item 208 from picking zone 209 anddetermine what order it corresponds to. For example, the rebin workermay use a device, such as computer 119C, to scan a barcode on item 208.Computer 119C may indicate visually which order item 208 is associatedwith. This may include, for example, a space or “cell” on a wall 216that corresponds to an order. Once the order is complete (e.g., becausethe cell contains all items for the order), the rebin worker mayindicate to a packing worker (or “packer”) that the order is complete.The packer may retrieve the items from the cell and place them in a boxor bag for shipping. The packer may then send the box or bag to a hubzone 213, e.g., via forklift, cart, dolly, handtruck, conveyor belt,manually, or otherwise.

Hub zone 213 may be an area of FC 200 that receives all boxes or bags(“packages”) from packing zone 211. Workers and/or machines in hub zone213 may retrieve package 218 and determine which portion of a deliveryarea each package is intended to go to, and route the package to anappropriate camp zone 215. For example, if the delivery area has twosmaller sub-areas, packages will go to one of two camp zones 215. Insome embodiments, a worker or machine may scan a package (e.g., usingone of devices 119A-119C) to determine its eventual destination. Routingthe package to camp zone 215 may comprise, for example, determining aportion of a geographical area that the package is destined for (e.g.,based on a postal code) and determining a camp zone 215 associated withthe portion of the geographical area.

Camp zone 215, in some embodiments, may comprise one or more buildings,one or more physical spaces, or one or more areas, where packages arereceived from hub zone 213 for sorting into routes and/or sub-routes. Insome embodiments, camp zone 215 is physically separate from FC 200 whilein other embodiments camp zone 215 may form a part of FC 200.

Workers and/or machines in camp zone 215 may determine which routeand/or sub-route a package 220 should be associated with, for example,based on a comparison of the destination to an existing route and/orsub-route, a calculation of workload for each route and/or sub-route,the time of day, a shipping method, the cost to ship the package 220, aPDD associated with the items in package 220, or the like. In someembodiments, a worker or machine may scan a package (e.g., using one ofdevices 119A-119C) to determine its eventual destination. Once package220 is assigned to a particular route and/or sub-route, a worker and/ormachine may move package 220 to be shipped. In exemplary FIG. 2, campzone 215 includes a truck 222, a car 226, and delivery workers 224A and224B. In some embodiments, truck 222 may be driven by delivery worker224A, where delivery worker 224A is a full-time employee that deliverspackages for FC 200 and truck 222 is owned, leased, or operated by thesame company that owns, leases, or operates FC 200. In some embodiments,car 226 may be driven by delivery worker 224B, where delivery worker224B is a “flex” or occasional worker that is delivering on an as-neededbasis (e.g., seasonally). Car 226 may be owned, leased, or operated bydelivery worker 224B.

FIG. 3 depicts a flowchart of an exemplary computerized planning process300. Planning process 300 may be performed, for example, at a planningstage during which FO system 113 may set a target workload for eachfulfillment center (FC). FIG. 4 depicts a table 400 of exemplary valuesfor different parameters determined during planning process 300.Planning process 300 is described below with reference to the exemplaryvalues in table 400. For example, there may be a first FC (i.e., FC1), asecond FC (i.e., FC2), and a third FC (i.e., FC3), each of which may beimplemented, in some embodiments, as FC 200 (depicted in FIG. 2).

At step 301, FO system 113 may receive data associated with a workloadforecast for each FC. Similar to the forecasting function describedabove with respect to generating purchase orders for individualproducts, SCM system 117 may forecast a level of workload for aparticular FC for a particular period of time based on, for example, thelevel of demand for a particular product, time of the day, day of theyear, upcoming holidays, location of the FC, and the like. SCM system117 may generate such forecast data at any predetermined interval (e.g.,24 hours, 12 hours, 6 hours).

Such forecast data may be generated a predetermined period of time inadvance (e.g., two days in advance). In some embodiments, the level ofworkload may include, among others, a number of orders expected to bereceived at an FC over a predetermined period of time (e.g., over 24hours). For example, workload forecast 401 in FIG. 4 includes 500,000orders at FC1, 300,000 at FC2, and 200,000 at FC3 for a total of1,000,000 orders across all FCs. In this example, workload forecast 401may refer to the number of orders expected to be received at each FCover a 24-hour period and is generated two days in advance at 12 AM.Another set of workload forecast 401 for the FCs for the following24-hour period may be generated on the next day at 12 AM.

In some embodiments, an order may comprise one or more products, but theworkload may only concern the number of orders. In other embodiments,SCM system 117 may factor the number of products associated with theorders in generating the workload forecast.

At step 303, FO system 113 may adjust workload forecast 401 usingFC-specific variables for the forecasted period of time to determinetarget workload 405 for the forecasted time. For example, theFC-specific variables may be associated with an expected labor shortageat an FC for the forecasted time, planned closure of an FC, plannedinstallation of new equipment at an FC, cost of shipping from the FC,financial situation of the FC, or the like. For example, target workload405 shows 550,000 orders for FC1, 290,000 for FC2, and 160,000 for FC3,different from workload forecast 401 described above. In someembodiments, target workload 405 of an FC may stay unchanged from itsworkload forecast 401. Total target workload may also stay unchanged ordeviate from the total workload forecast based on target workload 405 ofall FCs. In some embodiments, adjustment of forecasted workload 401 maytake place by a manual adjustment of the workload by a personknowledgeable of a particular FC's circumstances or by increasing ordecreasing workload forecast 401 by a predetermined fixed value based onpast history. Still further, in some embodiments, FO system 113 mayattempt to compensate for underperformance of one FC by increasing thetarget workload 405 of another FC just as target workload 405 FC1 isincreased to 550,000 orders from 500,000 orders in response to expectedunderperformance of FC2 and FC3.

At step 305, FO system 113 may determine target ratios 407 for each FCbased on target workload 405 for individual FCs and the total targetworkload. For example, target ratios 407 for FC1, FC2, and FC3 are 55%,29%, and 16%, respectively. In some embodiments, target ratios 407 mayserve as the ideal distribution of the actual workload. For example, ifworkload forecast 401 was accurate and a total of 1,000,000 orders areactually received on the forecasted date, FC1, FC2, and FC3 ideallywould have received 550,000, 290,000, and 160,000 orders, respectively.Alternatively, if the actual workload exceeded workload forecast 401 by200,000 orders, FC1, FC2, and FC3 ideally would have received 660,000,348,000, and 192,000 orders, respectively, in accordance with targetratios 407. In some embodiments, forecast ratio 403 may be used astarget ratio 407 without adjustment.

Distributing workload based on target ratios 407 instead of targetworkload 405 may allow distribution of workload regardless of the actualworkload even while the workload is still accruing. Furthermore, suchdistribution scheme may allow even distribution of workload relative tothe resources (e.g., labor force, inventory, etc.) available at each FC,which may minimize unbalanced distribution where one FC has too muchwork to do, incurring additional operating costs, while another has toolittle, wasting the operating costs already vested for the day.

More broadly, this distribution of workload based on ratio (i.e.,relative workload) instead of actual amount (i.e., absolute workload)may also be applicable to other technical areas such as distributedcomputing. In distributed computing, multiple computer systems areutilized to complete large computational tasks. A traditionaldistributed computing may distribute the computational tasks evenlyamong the computer systems regardless of their respective computationalcapacity, assign the maximum amount each computer system can handle insequence until all workload is assigned, allocate workloads in smallbatches as each computer system requests, or the like. Each of thesemethods, however, may result in over- or underutilization ofcomputational resources at each computer system. On the contrary,assessing available resources at each computer system first, determiningtheir relative capacities, and assigning workload based on the ratio ina manner consistent with the disclosed embodiments may allow evenutilization of resources regardless of the different amounts availableat each computer system.

Referring back to FIG. 3, at step 307, FO system 113 may also determinetolerance ratio 411 for the FCs based on tolerance 409 preassigned foreach FC based on FC-specific variables. In some embodiments, tolerance409 may indicate a degree of additional workload an FC may be capable ofprocessing. For example, FC1 may be able to process 8% more workloadthan planned if necessary, while FC2 may be able to process 5% more, andFC3, 4% more. The FC-specific variables may include, for example,availability of workers that can work overtime, level of inventory, costof shipping from the FC, financial situation of the FC, and the like. Insome embodiments, tolerance may also change over time because of some ofthe FC-specific variables may fluctuate over the course of a day. Forexample, recruiting additional workers for a night shift may be easierto do in the morning compared to doing the same in the late afternoon.

Based on tolerances 409, FO system 113 may determine tolerance ratio411, which, in this example, may be 59.4%, 30.5%, and 16.6% for FC1-3,respectively, computed by increasing individual target ratios 407 byrespective tolerances 409. In some embodiments, the sum of toleranceratios 411 may be greater than 100%. In other embodiments, FO system 113may further adjust tolerance ratios 411 proportionally to total 100%.

FIG. 5 depicts a diagram of an exemplary computerized workload balancingprocess 500 performed by FO system 113. As to be described below, theprocess may be divided into three stages that dictate the type ofworkload transfer authorized under each stage (row 560). FO system 113may determine the stage applicable to an FC based on considerations atthe aggregate level (row 540) and at the FC-level (row 550). As such,the determination of the appropriate stage is FC-specific, and differentFCs may operate under different stages at a given point in time.

FIG. 6 depicts a table 600 of exemplary values for the parameters thataffect FO system's 113 determination of different stages. The exemplaryvalues in table 600 are also related to the parameters described abovewith respect to FIG. 4 for consistency. Workload balancing process 500is described below with reference to the exemplary values in table 600.

After the planning stage described above with respect to FIGS. 3 and 4,FO system 113 may store the determined values (e.g., target ratios 407,tolerance ratios 411) in a database (not shown) until the forecastedtime arrives. For example, workload forecast 401 may have been generatedfor a date two days in the future, and FO system 113 may store thedetermined values until the date actually arrives.

At the actual forecasted time, external users may begin placing ordersvia external front end system 103 in the manner described above. Andaccordingly, FO system 113 may begin assigning the orders to FCs understage 1 balancing scheme 510. The initial assignments may be based onfactors such as recipient addresses, FCs' addresses, inventory at theFCs, and the like. In some embodiments, FO system 113 may continue tomake these initial assignments to FCs regardless of which balancingscheme is applied to a particular FC. Each FC may also begin processingthe orders as they are assigned.

In some embodiments, FO system 113 that assigns orders to the FCs may belocated at a central system that oversees each of the FCs. In otherembodiments, FO system 113 may be located at one of the FCs. In eitherembodiments, assigning an order may comprise transmitting the details ofthe order including a list of items and their quantities, a deliveryaddress, PDD, or the like. The receiving FC may add the order to afirst-in-first-out (FIFO) data structure (e.g., a queue), from whichassigned orders are processed (i.e., picked, packed, and delivered asdescribed above with respect to FIG. 2) in sequence or in parallel bymultiple order processing systems located at the receiving FC.Furthermore, reassigning or transferring an order to another FC maycomprise removing the order from the FIFO data structure of thetransferring FC, transferring the order and its corresponding orderinformation to the receiving FC, and adding the order to the FIFO datastructure of the receiving FC.

In some embodiments, FO system 113 may continue applying stage 1balancing scheme 510 until the total accrued order 501 is less thanorder threshold 503. Order threshold 503 may be a predetermined amountof orders that must be assigned across all FCs before FO system 113determines that the FCs should begin applying stage 2 balancing scheme520. Order threshold 503 may be determined based on a predeterminedpercentage of the total workload forecast determined by SCM system 117.In some embodiments, order threshold 503 may be a value less than thetotal workload forecast so that FO system 113 may begin transferring(i.e., reassigning) orders early on from an FC with a relatively highworkload to another with a relatively low workload. For example, orderthreshold 503 may be 10% of the total workload forecast 401 (shown inFIG. 4), which would be 100,000. Having an order threshold 503 higherthan the total workload forecast may not ensure enough time to balancethe workload as explained more in detail below.

Order threshold 503 and the predetermined percentage may be set using anoptimization model based on historical data such as the rate at whichorder accrues at a given time of the day and the flexibility of FCs inaccommodating additional workloads at different time of the day. Forexample, a low order threshold 503 may prompt FO system 113 to applystage 2 balancing scheme 520 relatively early, increasing the likelihoodof order transfers and thus incurring additional operating costsassociated with processing an order from a different FC. The original FCwhere an order is initially assigned might have been the best choice,and processing the order from another FC may incur additional costs dueto longer delivery distance or more expensive labor. On the other hand,a high order threshold 503 may delay order transfers, which may limitthe number of transfers that can be made because of restrictions on timeor resources. For example, FO system 113 may not be able to transfer anorder to an FC that has finished hiring night shift workers because theFC may not be able to handle additional workload without additionalworkers but cannot hire any more.

Referring to FIG. 6, at time 1 610, the total order accrual 611 is79,000, which is less than the order threshold of 100,000 set based on10% of the total workload forecast 401. Therefore, FO system 113 may notauthorize any transfers between FCs even though ratio 613 of FC1 isgreater than its tolerance ratio 411 of 59.4% shown in FIG. 4.

Once the total accrued order 501 becomes greater than or equal to orderthreshold 503, FO system 113 may begin applying stage 2 balancing scheme520 to all FCs. At this stage, FO system 113 may only authorize transferof orders at parcel level, which may be distinct from transferring atitem level.

In some embodiments, an order may include one or more items, which maybe packaged into one or more parcels. A parcel may refer to a group ofitems packaged together in one container such as a box. In someembodiments, a parcel may have associated fixed costs, which may includethe cost of the container, packaging materials, a minimum shipping fee,or the like. Transferring an order at item level may result in splittinga parcel so that a subset of the items intended to be shipped togetheris shipped from one FC while another subset of the items is shipped froma different FC. Therefore, transferring an order at item level, whileeffective for balancing workload among the FCs, may increase theoperating costs as a whole across all FCs. As such, in order to minimizeadditional cost as much as possible, FO system 113 may only authorizetransfers at parcel level under stage 2 balancing scheme 520 orauthorize them in a way that does not incur additional cost or onlyincurs a nominal amount.

For example, at time 2 620 in FIG. 6, the total order accrual 621 is160,000, which exceeds the order threshold of 100,000. In this case, FOsystem 113 may have been transferring orders between FCs from the pointwhen order accrual 621 reached 100,000 orders. In some embodiments, thetransfers may occur between two FCs based on their respective orderratio 623 and target ratio 601 (determined in a manner described abovewith respect to FIG. 3).

For example, in table 600, order ratio 623 of FC1 (58%) is greater thantarget ratio 601 of FC1 (55%). In this case, FO system 113 may authorizetransfer of orders at parcel level from FC1 to either FC2 or FC3,because order ratios 623 of FC2 and FC3 are both below their respectivetarget ratios 601. In some embodiments, when more than one FC isavailable to receive the transfer, FO system 113 may pick one FC basedon distance between the FC and the recipient's address, stock level ofthe ordered item, or the like. If no parcel level transfer can be madebecause the destination FC (i.e., FC2 or FC3 in this case) does not havea necessary item in stock, FO system 113 may leave the order with itscurrent FC.

In some embodiments, FO system 113 may continue transferring ordersunder stage 2 balancing scheme 520 for a particular FC while its orderratio 505 is less than its tolerance ratio 507. Once the FC's orderratio 505 becomes greater than or equal to its tolerance ratio 507, FOsystem 113 may apply stage 3 balancing scheme 530 to the FC. FO system113 may continue applying stage 2 balancing scheme 520 for other FCswhere the corresponding order ratio 505 is still less than thecorresponding tolerance ratio 507. For example, at time 3 630 in FIG. 6,order ratio 633 of FC1 (60%) is greater than tolerance ratio 603 of FC1(59.4%), indicating that FO system 113 is applying stage 3 balancingscheme 530 for FC1. On the other hand, order ratio 633 of FC2 and FC3are each less than corresponding tolerance ratios 603, indicating thatFO system 113 is still applying stage 2 balancing scheme 520 for FC2 andFC3.

In some embodiments, exceeding tolerance ratio 507 may indicate that thecorresponding FC is at risk of overloading its capacity. An overloadedFC may fail to process all orders assigned to it for a given period oftime or may need to incur additional costs to process all orders.Therefore, under stage 3 balancing scheme 530, FO system 113 maytransfer orders from one FC to another at item level. In other words, FOsystem 113 may split a parcel into two or more smaller units andtransfer one or more of the smaller units to other FCs. Such item leveltransfers may incur additional costs as described above, but theadditional cost may be substantially small relative to the costassociated with overloading an FC. Similar to parcel level transfers, ifno item level transfer can be made because the destination FC does nothave a necessary item in stock, FO system 113 may leave the order withits current FC.

In some embodiments, FO system 113 may switch between stage 2 or stage 3balancing schemes back and forth for an FC based on the comparison ofcorresponding order ratio 505 and tolerance ratio 507, as indicated byarrow 525, as order ratio 505 fluctuates because of transfers and newlyassigned orders.

Furthermore, in some embodiments, authorized workers at the FCs may usea user interface (not shown) associated with FO system 113 to configureone or more settings that open or close an FC to transfers. For example,the authorized workers may open his or her FC to accept incomingtransfers from other FCs or close the FC to block incoming transfers.Additionally or alternatively, the authorized workers may open his orher FC to allow outgoing transfers to other FCs or close to preventoutgoing transfers.

While the present disclosure has been shown and described with referenceto particular embodiments thereof, it will be understood that thepresent disclosure can be practiced, without modification, in otherenvironments. The foregoing description has been presented for purposesof illustration. It is not exhaustive and is not limited to the preciseforms or embodiments disclosed. Modifications and adaptations will beapparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of thespecification and practice of the disclosed embodiments. Additionally,although aspects of the disclosed embodiments are described as beingstored in memory, one skilled in the art will appreciate that theseaspects can also be stored on other types of computer readable media,such as secondary storage devices, for example, hard disks or CD ROM, orother forms of RAM or ROM, USB media, DVD, Blu-ray, or other opticaldrive media.

Computer programs based on the written description and disclosed methodsare within the skill of an experienced developer. Various programs orprogram modules can be created using any of the techniques known to oneskilled in the art or can be designed in connection with existingsoftware. For example, program sections or program modules can bedesigned in or by means of .Net Framework, .Net Compact Framework (andrelated languages, such as Visual Basic, C, etc.), Java, C++,Objective-C, HTML, HTML/AJAX combinations, XML, or HTML with includedJava applets.

Moreover, while illustrative embodiments have been described herein, thescope of any and all embodiments having equivalent elements,modifications, omissions, combinations (e.g., of aspects across variousembodiments), adaptations and/or alterations as would be appreciated bythose skilled in the art based on the present disclosure. Thelimitations in the claims are to be interpreted broadly based on thelanguage employed in the claims and not limited to examples described inthe present specification or during the prosecution of the application.The examples are to be construed as non-exclusive. Furthermore, thesteps of the disclosed methods may be modified in any manner, includingby reordering steps and/or inserting or deleting steps. It is intended,therefore, that the specification and examples be considered asillustrative only, with a true scope and spirit being indicated by thefollowing claims and their full scope of equivalents.

1-20. (canceled)
 21. A computer-implemented method for balancingworkload among one or more locations, the method comprising: receivingdata associated with a workload forecast for a plurality of locations,the data comprising a number of orders expected to be received for theplurality of locations for a predetermined period of time; determining afirst set of ratios of workload forecast for the plurality of locationsrelative to a first sum of the workload forecast for the plurality oflocations based on available processing capacities of the plurality oflocations; receiving electronic orders for the predetermined period oftime; and reassigning a first subset of electronic orders for a firstlocation of the plurality of locations to a second location of theplurality of locations based on the first set of ratios, wherein thereassigned subset of electronic orders are configured to balance adistribution of load among the plurality of locations based on theavailable processing capacities of the plurality of locations.
 22. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 21, wherein the data associatedwith a workload forecast is determined using a simulation model based ona level of demand, geographical location of the plurality of locations,and a time of the year.
 23. The computer-implemented method of claim 21,wherein determining the first set of ratios comprises adjusting theworkload forecast for a subset of the plurality of locations based oncircumstances associated with the subset of the plurality of locations.24. The computer-implemented method of claim 21, wherein determining thefirst set of ratios comprises adjusting the workload forecast by a userinput corresponding to a subset of the plurality of locations.
 25. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 21, wherein determining the firstset of ratios comprises adjusting the first set of ratios by a set oftolerance ratios corresponding to the plurality of locations.
 26. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 25, further comprising determiningthe set of tolerance ratios based on projected processing capacities ofthe plurality of locations.
 27. The computer-implemented method of claim21, wherein receiving the electronic orders comprises assigning theelectronic orders to different locations among the plurality oflocations.
 28. The computer-implemented method of claim 27, whereinassigning the electronic orders is based on at least one of adestination address, addresses of the plurality of locations, orinventories at the plurality of locations.
 29. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 27, wherein assigning the electronic orders continues atleast until a number of the electronic orders is less than a predefinedthreshold.
 30. The computer-implemented method of claim 21, furthercomprising reassigning additional subsets of the electronic orders fromthe first location to the second location at least until a toleranceratio for the first location is reached, the tolerance ratio beingdetermined based on the first set of ratios.
 31. A computer-implementedsystem for balancing workload among one or more locations, the systemcomprising: a non-transitory computer-readable medium configured tostore instructions; and at least one processor configured to execute theinstructions for: receiving data associated with a workload forecast fora plurality of locations, the data comprising a number of ordersexpected to be received for the plurality of locations for apredetermined period of time; determining a first set of ratios ofworkload forecast for the plurality of locations relative to a first sumof the workload forecast for the plurality of locations based onavailable processing capacities of the plurality of locations; receivingelectronic orders for the predetermined period of time; and reassigninga first subset of electronic orders for a first location of theplurality of locations to a second location of the plurality oflocations based on the first set of ratios, wherein the reassignedsubset of electronic orders are configured to balance a distribution ofload among the plurality of locations based on the available processingcapacities of the plurality of locations.
 32. The computer-implementedsystem of claim 31, wherein the data associated with a workload forecastis determined using a simulation model based on a level of demand,geographical location of the plurality of locations, and a time of theyear.
 33. The computer-implemented system of claim 31, whereindetermining the first set of ratios comprises adjusting the workloadforecast for a subset of the plurality of locations based oncircumstances associated with the subset of the plurality of locations.34. The computer-implemented system of claim 31, wherein determining thefirst set of ratios comprises adjusting the workload forecast by a userinput corresponding to a subset of the plurality of locations.
 35. Thecomputer-implemented system of claim 31, wherein determining the firstset of ratios comprises adjusting the first set of ratios by a set oftolerance ratios corresponding to the plurality of locations.
 36. Thecomputer-implemented system of claim 35, wherein the instructionsfurther comprise determining the set of tolerance ratios based onprojected processing capacities of the plurality of locations.
 37. Thecomputer-implemented system of claim 31, wherein receiving theelectronic orders comprises assigning the electronic orders to differentlocations among the plurality of locations.
 38. The computer-implementedsystem of claim 37, wherein assigning the electronic orders is based onat least one of a destination address, addresses of the plurality oflocations, or inventories at the plurality of locations.
 39. Thecomputer-implemented system of claim 37, wherein assigning theelectronic orders continues at least until a number of the electronicorders is less than a predefined threshold.
 40. A computer-implementedsystem for redistributing one or more orders among one or morewarehouses, the system comprising: a non-transitory computer-readablemedium configured to store instructions; and at least one processorconfigured to execute the instructions for: receiving data associatedwith an order forecast for a plurality of warehouses, the data beingdetermined using an order simulation model and comprising a number oforders expected to be received for the plurality of warehouses for apredetermined period of time; determining a first set of ratios of theorder forecast for the plurality of warehouses relative to a first sumof the order forecast for the plurality of warehouses based on projectedprocessing capacities of the plurality of warehouses; receivingelectronic orders for the predetermined period of time; assigning theelectronic orders to the plurality of warehouses based on an outcome ofthe order allocation model; reassigning a subset of the electronicorders for a first warehouse to a second warehouse, wherein thereassigned subset of electronic orders are configured to balance adistribution of load among the plurality of warehouses based onavailable processing capacities of the plurality of warehouses; andfulfilling the electronic orders at corresponding warehouses where theelectronic orders are assigned or reassigned.